October 2004 · Volume 86 · Number 9

FYI
Auburn Is a CityLinks Partner
Over the past seven years, ICMA’s CityLinks program has given Auburn, Alabama (David Watkins, city manager), the opportunity to work with Bulgarian cities to complete objectives ranging from proper landfill management to citizen participation in government. But the hot topic that never failed to come up in the myriad exchanges between Auburn and its international counterparts has been local economic development.
“Everyone wanted to talk about how to create jobs,” said Phillip Dunlap, Auburn’s director of economic development. “We just so happened to know a thing or two about that.”
Auburn is a leader in economic development. Since 1984, the city has had its own economic development department, staffed by professionals whose sole task is to ensure the economic well-being of Auburn by attracting new businesses, while helping nurture existing local businesses. It was Auburn’s professional approach to business development that Bulgarian city leaders coveted most.
Before the CityLinks program began in Bulgaria in the fall of 1997, Bulgarian mayors essentially served as their cities’ economic development experts. But U.S. cities working in Bulgaria, led by Auburn, saw that authority needed to be delegated more effectively, with the goal for each participant city to, in time, employ a professional economic development staff member in charge of business development, retention, and expansion.
Businesses had to be recruited, relationships needed to be fostered between existing businesses and local governments, and businesses with the desire to expand their operations—providing, by far, the biggest prospects for large-scale, sustainable job growth—had to be given an environment that encouraged growth and expansion. Such work requires time, training, and unique skill that a mayor might not be able to provide. Economic development can be a full-time job.
Fourteen Bulgarian cities now have economic development staff trained by CityLinks participants and certified by ICMA and its Bulgarian counterpart, the Foundation for Local Government Reform (FLGR). Their mentors, led by Auburn, included staff professionals from West Carrollton, Ohio (Tracy Williams, city manager); Kettering, Ohio, (Steve Huseman, city manager), West Bend Wisconsin, (Dennis Melvin, city manager); Golden, Colorado (Mike Bestor, city manager); and Abington Township, Pennsylvania (Tom Conway, town manager); Charlottesville, Virginia (Gary O’Connell, city manager); Winchester, Virginia (Ed Daley, city manager); and Ontario, California (Gregory Devereaux, city manager).
The Expertise
These professionals succeeded in giving 14 cities and approximately 30 would-be economic development professionals the benefits of their expertise by way of a broad-based training program and hands-on assistance.
“We wanted to cover everything: marketing, business development and retention, cost-benefit analysis—a method of great use in determining the viability of future projects—simulations of citizen participation methods and strategic planning practices, so as to leave no stone unturned,” said Dunlap, later adding that “[Bulgarian partners] came out knowing all they wanted to and more about local economic development.” And this knowledge transfer has been successful. More than 250 jobs are to be created by the end of 2004.
It would be unfair, however, to claim that Bulgaria was the only beneficiary of the mission. “Working with the Bulgarians was a great learning opportunity, especially for the younger members of our team. It was a good chance to get them some hands-on experience,” said Dunlap. “When you operate in an environment with so few resources, you really learn to cut costs and aim at effectiveness, and that mentality carries over to the work our team does in Auburn as well.”
It is fair, though, to say that Bulgaria is undergoing sea change in both the way it governs itself at home and toward its presentation abroad. As members of a formerly communist nation with no responsibility for their economic well-being, Bulgarian cities are now positioning themselves as communities that are “open for business” and ready to compete in a global environment to build their local economies. The economic development project is set to expand to 30 cities by the end of the year, with Auburn and their fellow U.S. cities continuing to work with international colleagues.
For more information, visit the Web site at www.icma.org/citylinks to see the local economic development partnerships that have been developed through the collaboration of CityLinks partners in Bulgaria.
James David Dickson, Communications Intern, Resource Cities Program/CityLinks, ICMA, Washington, D.C. 

© 2004 International City/County Management Association.